“People and the factory are one, we shall die together with the factory!”
A banner written on white cloth hung at the entrance of the Dafeng Factory, waving in the wind.
A loudspeaker played "We workers have the power..." which sounded somewhat desolate.
There were also sandbag fortifications and a factory guard team patrolling with shotguns and iron rods.
Li Dakang's motorcade wasn't stopped. Sun Liancheng had called the factory beforehand to inform them.
However, Li Dakang didn't have his convoy drive straight in. Instead, he stopped at the entrance of the Dafeng Factory and got off the car to walk.
The surrounding factory guard team members secretly looked at the big official surrounded by his aides, speculating about his reason for coming.
The sheer presence indicated that he was a very important official. Was he here to uphold justice for the Dafeng Factory, or was he in league with the Sanshui Group?
The Dafeng Factory guard team members secretly observed Li Dakang, and Li Dakang was also observing them. He saw anxiety in their eyes.
Commoners don't fight with officials, a principle known to everyone. But the Dafeng Factory dared to fight, yet they were anxious. This indicated that someone, not too big but not too small, was supporting them.
Someone too small wouldn't be of much use, they wouldn't have the courage to fight. If it were someone too big, the factory guard team members wouldn't be anxious, but rather arrogant.
Even without being a time traveler with foreknowledge, Li Dakang could analyze a lot of useful information from the details. Of course, he didn't need to analyze now. He knew that Chen Yan Shi was backing the Dafeng Factory.
Ultimately, Chen Yan Shi couldn't be considered a bad person, but he couldn't escape the common flaws of old people of his age: he liked to lord it over others and meddle in everything, and he was very self-important because of his high position before retirement.
Not to mention others, even Chen Hai, Chen Yan Shi's own son, had to avoid him, showing how unlikeable Chen Yan Shi was. Even his own son couldn't stand him, how could anyone else stand him?
Li Dakang walked from the entrance towards the inside. He deliberately got off the car at the entrance, looking for the gasoline barrels that led to the “116” vicious group event, where over 30 people were burned.
He found the gasoline barrels!
Li Dakang only walked a few steps before he found several barrels. He didn't need to get close to smell the gasoline fumes.
After finding the gasoline barrels, Li Dakang stopped and calmly looked towards the few people rushing towards him.
They were Zheng Xi Po, the chairman of the Dafeng Factory's trade union, Ma, the deputy factory director, You, the accountant, and others.
There was also someone who shouldn't have been there, but whose presence was expected by Li Dakang: Chen Yan Shi.
The reason was simple: the current owner of the Dafeng Factory, Cai Cheng Gong, had run away. Without a leader, Zheng Xi Po and the others could only turn to Chen Yan Shi for support.
Li Dakang stood still, by the gasoline barrels. He calmly waited for Chen Yan Shi, Zheng Xi Po, and the others to reach him.
Li Dakang pretended to have just noticed Chen Yan Shi and walked towards him: "Old Chen, why are you here?"
Chen Yan Shi explained: "I heard that you, the great secretary, were coming to the Dafeng Factory for an inspection and investigation. Zheng Xi Po, the chairman of the Dafeng Factory's trade union and the representative of the worker shareholders, asked me to accompany you for the inspection and investigation."
The truth was that the Dafeng Factory received a notification from Sun Liancheng that Li Dakang, the secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Committee, was coming to inspect and investigate and resolve the Dafeng Factory relocation matter. Zheng Xi Po worried that he wouldn't be able to handle it, so he specially invited Chen Yan Shi to come and oversee things.
Chen Yan Shi was also worried that Li Dakang would use his power to intimidate them and force the Dafeng Factory to relocate. Zheng Xi Po and the others wouldn't be able to stand up to him, so he rushed to the Dafeng Factory to back up the 1300+ employees and see how Li Dakang planned to handle the Dafeng Factory relocation matter.
"Then I'll trouble you, Old Chen," Li Dakang smiled and turned to Zheng Xi Po, asking: "Comrade Zheng Xi Po, what's in these barrels?"
Zheng Xi Po realized something was wrong, but he didn't dare to hide it. He answered honestly: "Secretary Li, these barrels contain gasoline."
Li Dakang immediately changed his expression and questioned sternly: "Comrade Zheng Xi Po, gasoline is carelessly left in the open, one spark and a major disaster could happen. Is this how you ensure safety at your factory?"
Zheng Xi Po said with embarrassment: "Secretary Li, we don't usually store gasoline like this. It's because the Sanshui Group wants to forcibly demolish our factory. We're forced to use this gasoline to protect our factory."
"Nonsense! Using gasoline to protect your Dafeng Factory? You don't need the Sanshui Group to demolish it. Just one spark, and your Dafeng Factory will go to hell!"
Li Dakang took advantage of the situation and winked at Sun Liancheng: "What are the fire department and the safety supervision department doing? Call them in and have them thoroughly investigate the safety hazards at the Dafeng Factory!"
"Yes, I'll call the fire department and the safety supervision department immediately!" Sun Liancheng understood and immediately took out his phone to call them, asking them to rush to the Dafeng Factory.
In normal times, these barrels of gasoline were a huge safety hazard. In this extraordinary period when the Dafeng Factory was resisting the Sanshui Group's forced demolition, they were a time bomb waiting to explode.
However, what Sun Liancheng didn't know was that the Dafeng Factory had a bigger safety hazard. But Li Dakang knew that the Dafeng Factory had a 20-ton gasoline depot, always kept full.
Li Dakang had to eliminate this time bomb waiting to explode. If this 20-ton gasoline depot exploded, it would be world news. Then, forget about making progress, he might even end up in prison.
Therefore, Li Dakang seized the opportunity, telling Sun Liancheng to call in the fire department and the safety supervision department. Once they arrived, he could find any excuse to order a rectification of the 20-ton gasoline depot.
Since the Dafeng Factory was about to be demolished, there was no need to waste money on rectification. This would allow him to legitimately arrange for the Petrochemical Company to send a truck to pump out the 20 tons of gasoline.
Li Dakang said with a stern face: "Comrade Zheng Xi Po, where is Cai Cheng Gong, the chairman of your Dafeng Factory? Let him come and report to me how you actually handle safety production at your factory."
Zheng Xi Po quickly reported: "Secretary Li, Cai Cheng Gong hasn't been to the factory for a while."
Li Dakang said impatiently: "Call him, tell him to come to the factory immediately."
Zheng Xi Po showed a look of difficulty: "Secretary Li, when District Chief Sun notified you this afternoon that you would be inspecting and investigating our Dafeng Factory, I called Cai Cheng Gong several times, but his phone was off and I couldn't get through."
Li Dakang snorted: "He's deliberately turning off his phone?"
Zheng Xi Po quickly explained: "Secretary Li, Cai Cheng Gong isn't doing it on purpose. His phone has been off all this time."
Chen Yan Shi helped speak: "Secretary Li, because of the equity dispute between the Dafeng Factory and the Sanshui Group, Cai Cheng Gong has gone into hiding. His phone is off, and no one can find him."
Li Dakang was secretly delighted, and casually dug a pit for Chen Yan Shi: "Old Chen, look at this mess. Cai Cheng Gong is not here. Who can represent the Dafeng Factory to negotiate with the municipal government?"
It was better if Cai Cheng Gong was not there. Li Dakang had no intention of considering Cai Cheng Gong's feelings. Since Cai Cheng Gong wasn't there, he could cut to the chase during the negotiations.
All this trouble was caused by Cai Cheng Gong. If he hadn't withdrawn funds from the Dafeng Factory to do coal business, why would he need to borrow bridge financing from the Sanshui Group?
Even though the Sanshui Group set a trap for Cai Cheng Gong by making him pledge the Dafeng Factory's equity as collateral, it was a dirty trick, but objectively speaking, if this lawsuit went all the way to Yancheng, the Sanshui Group would have the advantage.
Collateralized loans are a very common economic practice. If the borrower fails to repay the principal and interest on time, the lender has the right to dispose of the collateral. This is common sense.
However, this seemingly ordinary civil dispute, involving the equity and resettlement of over 1300 employees of the Dafeng Factory, became complicated, as political factors needed to be considered.
…